Tourism

Skybok’s very own, Tami Scripps, visited Egypt and returned with footage to share with YOU! If you wish to travel to Egypt, are intrigued by beautiful views, or just love learning new historical facts- head on over to our instagram or facebook to see our travel series posts. We even have a board on Pinterest! Where do you want to see next?

I’ve always been fascinated with ancient Egypt. (There’s a great documentary on Netflix now, search for “Egypt” by BBC Films). Here are some more photos from the museum’s exhibition showcasing exact replicas of the artifacts discovered in his tomb. (A nice website on the exhibition with historical questions answered here). Also, check out 8 surprising facts about Tutankhamun.

Skybok recently shot “The Swan House” in Atlanta, Georgia – Wow! What a remarkable testiment to history. The Atlanta Historical Society aquired the house in 1966 and has made the experience for visitors exceptionally interactive, with actors portraying the characters who once lived in this iconic home.

Fun Facts About Swan House

The house is an example of a classic 1928 mansion

It was built at the end of the jazz age

It was built by a noted architect, Philip T. Shutze, who designed Swan House and its gardens, as well as many other important buildings in the city of Atlanta

It lies in Atlanta’s “Buckhead” neighbourhood

It is part of the Atlanta History Centre

It was a filming location for “The Hunger Games”

Its original owners Edward and Emily Inman. The Inmans had accumulated wealth from cotton brokerage and investments on transportation, banking and real estate

The house combines Renaissance revival styles with a Classical approach on the main facade

Edward Inman died in 1931, but Emily collected her family into the house and lived there until 1965. The house and grounds were acquired by the Atlanta Historical Society in 1966. See the Atlanta History Center’s website at: http://www.atlantahistorycenter.com/

The entrance to Margaret Mitchell’s home where she wrote “Gone With The Wind”

“Gone With The Wind” products at the gift shop

I recently visited Atlanta, Georgia, where I was attending the International Rotary Convention. I had little to no knowledge of Atlanta, and was pleasantly surprised with some of the amazing tourist spots! One of them being The Margaret Mitchell House + Museum – the original home of the famous author and birthplace of “Gone With The Wind”! FYI: It took her 9 years to write the book, during which time she would seal chapters of her book in envelopes + hide them in secret spots around the home. I highly recommend this fantastic destination if you’re in the city – an entertaining, educational venue where you can learn some valuable historical info, not only about the author’s life, but also about Georgia history + the era in which the film was made. My favorite part was the guided tour through the apartment + the behind-the-scenes info on the audition process with highlights on the making of the famous film (including archival footage of the film premiere + celebrity interviews). Book your weekend getaway today via EXPLORE TRIP (They are currently running a brilliant S U M M E R S P E C I A L!).

Margaret Mitchell, Peggy Marsh to her friends, dubbed her apartment, “The Dump.” Surprisingly, it is in this shabby little apartment on the bottom floor that this petite, yet mighty woman wrote a big ‘ol book that sold faster than a duck on a June bug!

It is here that the notorious Peggy Marsh wrote Gone With the Wind. A Pulitzer Prize followed. Fame, fortune, and fans, too.

Skybok recently filmed the video profile of a new brewery in Fredericksburg, Texas. Altstadt Brewery also wanted videos on both the history of the German “Purity Laws” also known as the “The Reinheitsgebot” according to which they brew their beer, and an explainer video on the difference between Lager +Kölsch. Altstadt has a growing community on Facebook + Twitter, where the videos have been well-received by patrons. The videos are also up on Skybok’s YouTube Channel here. Skybok did some great shoots of the facility, and took some candid photos of the six packs amidst the iconic wildflowers of the Texan Hill Country. Camera: Canon Rebel T5 + iPhone 7 Plus with Depth Effect.

The South African music scene has evolved so much in the last decade. I personally love listening to one of our top DJ’s, ‘Euphonik’. Check out my Spotify playlist of South African artists to hear his sound along with many others.

Skybok was fortunate to film some incredible music venues that contributed to the country’s music scene by providing platforms for local artists to reach new audiences + connect with old ones.

Grahamstown

East London

Cape Town

Port Elizabeth

1. Seven days thou shalt labour + do all thy work, for the startup life knows no sabbath.

That includes holy days. All-night coding sessions, missed meals + triple espressos are the order of the day.

2. Thou shalt not torture thy customers with an endless beta.

To a customer, the “beta testing” label doesn’t mean much. If you keep making mistakes + your buttons don’t work + their password gets leaked, saying that you were “in beta” isn’t going to make them feel better – or stick around.

3. Thou shalt not take thy competitors’ names in vain.

Badmouthing competitors sounds a little too much like gossip. “We’re very careful: we don’t talk about competitors, we don’t slag them, we don’t throw them under the bus,” says Dave Olson, VP Community at HootSuite. The point is to focus on building a better product. “We don’t compete against people; we compete against ourselves,” he explains.

If you have to compare yourself to Mark Zuckerberg, you probably shouldn’t be compared to Mark Zuckerberg. Brian Wong, the 21-year-old founder of Kiip, complains about this phenomenon: “This is giving birth to a generation, unfortunately, of extremely cocky, ego-driven young entrepreneurs that think that just because they’re young, they should be paid attention to,” he says.

“I am my own person, I am my own class of entrepreneur, and I will build a company without anybody asking me how I built it compared to someone else. I’m going to build it my way.”

Otherwise, your customers will be vengeful rather than forgiving masters. Social media has made business more + more transparent, so it’s hard to get away with apologies that don’t admit wrongdoing – “We are sorry if some were offended” – or apologies that skew the facts.

6. Honour thy investors, that their purse-strings may be loosened.

Zvi Band, the CEO of Contactually, recommends keeping in touch with current investors every 2 weeks + potential investors every week.

And while you may not always follow investors’ advice, show some respect + actually take it seriously. Even if they didn’t create your startup, they are helping it grow.

7. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s acquisition.

Holding out your hopes for a $1 billion acquisition like Instagram’s is foolhardy, to say the least. And even profit-hungry investors don’t want to hear about your acquisition fantasies. “If you show me a slide as an early-stage company that mentions your exit opportunities, and in 3 years you’ll sell to Google for that return to me, I’ll just laugh at you – but the laughing means you’re dead,” says Jeff Clavier of SoftTechVC.

8. Thou shalt not steal thy startup’s contact list.

In a recent scandal, one of WakeMate’s cofounders used the startup’s email list and Twitter account to promote his new product, MiLife+, and raise funds on Indiegogo. He claimed it was affiliated with WakeMate, but the other cofounder didn’t know anything about it. Here’s the full story. The Indiegogo project was eventually taken down due to the drama.

Closing down a startup may be a painful process + an admission of failure, but it frees you up to move on to the next exciting thing. “You got a lot of good guys running companies that are not doing well, when they could be joining forces and building a lot more value,” says Mohan Belani, the founder of Asian tech blog e27. “I call it a zombie. People don’t want to kill themselves.”

10. Thou shalt practice generosity if thou becomest a gazillionaire.

Virtuous choices including being a mentor or investor, opening an accelerator + donating pizzas to hungry entrepreneurs in your your community.

Skybok is working on an exciting venture in the mobile app realm, linking our videos with a brand new “Connect City” Smartphone app set to launch later this year. It’s an app exclusively for visitors to Nelson Mandela Bay here in gorgeous South Africa. We love the idea that starting this Summer, tourists will have the benefit of a quick, easy-to-use navigation tool right at their fingertips. Skybok is on board to bring the city alive in a visually engaging way – and we’re having tons of fun doing it! ;)